Forty-two US senators across party lines have urged US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) to lay the groundwork for negotiating a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan.
In a joint letter to Tai on the eve of the 11th Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) trade talks between Taiwan and the US on Wednesday, the US senators highlighted the importance of such dialogue with Taiwan.
“We respectfully request that you prioritize these talks and take steps to begin laying the groundwork for negotiation of a free-trade agreement (FTA), or other preliminary agreement, with Taiwan,” read the letter, initiated by US senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner.
Photo: Reuters
The letter — which Rubio posted on his Web site on Wednesday — said that beyond commerce and investment, trade talks with Taiwan are of “great strategic importance.”
“We can all be confident that an agreement negotiated with Taiwan could serve as a model for what a high-standard FTA should look like,” the senators wrote.
“It will facilitate free trade under fair conditions that allow American workers, producers and companies alike to flourish. Advanced economies such as Singapore and New Zealand have paved the way by signing their own FTAs with Taiwan,” they said.
“Maintaining US economic influence in the region and reducing Taiwan’s dependence on China is essential to ensuring that the region remains free and open,” they added.
Prominent US senators who signed the letter include Senate Minority Whip John Thune; Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Ranking Member Roger Wicker; and Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member James Inhofe.
In October last year, 50 US senators wrote to then-US trade representative Robert Lighthizer to urge the deepening of bilateral trade ties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday, thanking the 42 senators in the new congress for also supporting the improvement of Taiwan-US trade ties.
US Senator Chris Coons, who visited Taiwan last month, was also among the people who signed the letter, Ou added.
Wednesday’s virtual TIFA meeting was fruitful and marked a major milestone in Taiwan-US trade relations, she said.
Given the US’ bipartisan support for Taiwan, the ministry would continue to work with domestic government agencies to deepen Taiwan-US trade ties, Ou said.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Taiwan’s first African swine fever (ASF) case has been confirmed and would soon be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Research Institute yesterday completed the analysis of samples collected on Tuesday from dead pigs at a hog farm in Taichung and found they were ASF-positive. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Animal Quarantine Division chief Lin Nien-nung (林念農) said the result would be reported to the WOAH and Taiwan’s major trade partners would also be notified, adding that pork exports would be suspended. As of Friday, all samples
RSS